Definition

properly, to chop into, pierce or sever; hence, to curtail, to distribute (into ranks); to shoot an arrow

Etymology

a primitive root (compare H2673 (חָצָה)lemma חָעָה ayin, corrected to חָצָה); also as denominative from H2671 (חֵץ)

Where the KJV renders it

• archer
• bands
• cut off in the midst

Every distinct English word the King James Version uses to translate this Hebrew term. The variety shows what readers in English receive across many different surface words — the same underlying word, scattered across the English Bible under different names.

What the first audience heard

A deep-dive treatment of this word is in the works. The featured chapter above carries the long form of what this word meant to its first audience.